Sunday, May 15, 2011

for me to have a minor mental breakdown, as I do yearly, and chop all my hair off.

The timing for my breakdowns tends to vary. I'll try to chronicle them:

2005, hello flat (aka no)boobs, septum ring and size 0 jeans. HA!

2006, Nov, Wedding

November 2007 - with my nephew, Jackson.

May 2008 - Bachelorette party , where is that dress???

June 2009 - only photo i have of my hair

As you can see, I had Lucas in June of 2009, and my hair (and all beauty aspects) have taken a back seat since then... I have gotten it cut & colored occasionally but I haven't REALLY chopped it in a while. It's about time.

I have an appt tomorrow, which I'm trying my damnedest to make it to. I had a death in the family, so I may need to attend services tomorrow. I'm hoping I can squeeze my hair appt in first. We'll see.

Photo update soon. Also and update on my thrifting finds so far. Nothing too exciting, but some cute summer basics!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

I have issued myself a "fashion" challenge this summer: a dress/skirt everyday.

To any other girl. this would be an easy feat. For me, it will not be so easy. I wear dresses only on dressy occasions, such as holidays or events. I own less than 10 dresses, and about half of those are too formal for everyday way. That gives me about 4-5 dresses that I can actually pull off.

I'm just now realizing that I have a lot of purple. Weird, purple is not one of my favorite colors. Anyway, my plan is to start hitting up thrift/consignment shops asap. I'd like to have at least 10-15 dresses that I can rotate through the summer. Ideally these will be summery, casual, sun dresses.

I've fallen into a habit, over the years, of throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I don't dress for fashion reasons, or to feel good about myself, I dress for comfort, practicality, and ease. I feel yucky about it. I want to put out the best version of myself.

So, stay tuned for a progress report. I'm hoping to post a photo or two along the way, but I'm not a big fan of pictures of myself. Lame, I know.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

I should preface this post by acknowledging my extreme ignorance to all things deemed "current events". I found out about OBL's death via facebook. Seriously. At noontime the next day.

I don't watch the news on a regular basis for a variety of reasons. I don't closely follow politics because I tend to get overwhelmed by a lack of consistent unbiased news reporting. I don't have the patience to independently seek out the truth, so I just steer clear of most political things.

That is not to say that I'm not politically opinionated. I have values and morals that I hold dear, but I don't really fit into any political party. I can say that I am 100% in alignment with women's rights, gay rights, religious freedom (when not abused), and certainly the pursuit of happiness. I don't necessarily agree with "big government", but I also do see a need for more government presence in the healthcare industry. I support more funding for schools, and higher tax rates for the obscenely rich. I definitely agree that tax rates should be based on income, and the percentage should increase (fairly) when people reach certain income levels.

None of this has anything to do with Osama Bin Laden, however. I'm at a complete loss for words with this OBL issue. I do realize that this man is ultimately responsible for the deaths of thousands. I do realize that he is one (of many) reason that my son has lived every day of his life in a time of war. I do realize that he was, in our view, an evil man. But let's think about this objectively...

The man is fighting for what he believes to be religious truth. I don't agree with him, but who am I to say he's wrong in hs beliefs? He killed many people, which is unquestionably wrong. Murder does not fall under religious freedom in my book. So we can all agree that he is guilty of a crime that needs to be handled justly. So we go to war, and seek him out. Now, we're only kidding ourselves if we say that OBL is the only reason we are in this war. Let's be realistic. So, 10 years later we finally find the guy. He's killed in the process. Alright. I understand that this is a realistic risk of war. I mean, it's war. People die. It's a sad truth.

Now comes the issue of what happens next. Many people are outraged that he was treated with "religious respect" and his body was dealt with according to Muslim tradition. I don't know much about Muslim faith, but I do know that I believe in freedom of religion. But do I believe that he should be given the respect of burial/last rites according to his religion? I'm not sure. I mean, if he had been captured, put to trial, spent time in jail and was on death row, would he have been given the same religious rights? I'm not entirely sure. Maybe? But when push comes to shove, does it really matter?

I understand the argument that he was not a tolerant and understanding human. He killed people, and therefore he doesn't deserve those rights. However, don't we, as a nation, stand by our Constitution? Don't we proclaim that the US is the nation of religious freedom and tolerance?

My ultimate scale of morality lies within my child. If the decision of how to deal with OBL landed squarely on my shoulders, what would I do, keeping in mind that my son would be seeing the example I'd be setting. Holy shit, talk about a tough call. I have no idea what is "right" or "wrong" in this situation. I really don't. I mean, I don't really agree that an "eye for an eye" is the way to deal with things, but OBL was killed during a war. The issue isn't whether he deserved to die or not, it's whether he deserved his last religious rites. In my opinion, he did. We all do. No matter how I die, I'd hope that I would receive my right of Catholic burial. To my knowledge, prisoners that are about to be given the death penalty are offered their Last Rites, or other religious ceremony before they are killed. I don't whole heartedly agree with the death penalty, but if we give those prisoners religious rights and freedoms, why not OBL?

I think it is our duty, as Americans, to put our best foot forward. We should always take the moral high road, based on our beliefs as Americans, as stated in our Constitution. We should not let hatred, disgust, contempt, or any other emotion get in the way of what we seek to represent as a country. We need to lead by example for our children. How can we preach tolerance, and anti-bullying, to our children and turn around and deny someone their religious freedom? Simply stated: We can't. We need to come together as a nation, and help the victims and others affected by 9/11 to heal. This is a crucial time for the victims, their families, and for us as a nation to get some closure on a very difficult time in our history. Let's not forget that OBL is also someone's child. He is a son, brother, uncle, father. He may be guilty of horrible crimes, but someone somewhere is also mourning his death. We should keep this in mind.

As Lucas grows I want him to be tolerant of all religions, cultures and differences. I want him to be an accepting person, even more than I am. I want him to have an open mind, and to experience the world through unbiased eyes. I want him to have a firm grasp on his own values and morals. He will hold certain truths to be undeniable, and he will need to muddle through the "gray areas" of morality. I hope that I will give him a firm foundation of beliefs to help him through those sticky situations. I hope that when I have to tell him about 9/11 and OBL, as he grows up, that I can explain the complexity in a way that he can understand. Most of all, I hope he never has to see the devastation that 9/11 and OBL have brought to the world. I hope that he never has to sit down, as I am now, trying to figure out how to explain something like this to his children.

I hope, I pray, and I believe that this world can be the kind of place that I want him to grow up in...

About Me

I'm just a girl trying to make my way through my mid-twenties. The past few years have brought about lots of new experiences, my first home, marriage, parenthood, a new business. Each day is a struggle and a joy, and I wouldn't change a second of it.